Didn't want to make another one until I got done with season 3, sorry!

Please Enjoy

The main difference between the New World and Yggdrasil was the sheer scale of power that the players of the latter could exhibit. Here a man could crush a boulder with his bare hands and be labeled a hero, in the game a man could bring down entire mountains with a single spell and call it trivial, this was the dilemma that kept Ainz and Tanabe from exerting too much of their strength at any given moment, the threat of destruction.

This world was still young and as such the number of truly powerful beings was limited, a warrior as heavily invested in PvP combat like Tanabe could easily fell a thousand men with a single swing and a necromancer like Ainz could bring ruin to the entire nation and raise them all for his armies, but what would they have to gain from the slaughter? Despite the changes to their minds and bodies from this forced existence they still had a certain level of humanity that prevented either of them from haphazardly showcasing their might carelessly, the humanity that Zesshi Zetsumei was clearly lacking.

With a single swipe she managed to tear down walls and upend the flooring, a frightening display of power that would have most humans cowering in fear, or in this case cut off any escape routes. A few more and she was shaking the very foundation that her home was built upon, there was no telling how much more she was destroying than what was readily visible.

"Finally done running, are you?"

Tanabe was stunned, too stunned to even process what she'd said. The damage Zesshi had done to her own home far exceeded his expectations, he knew that there may have been a few "accidents" in his interactions with this woman but this was way overkill for a couple zoning attacks only meant to keep him from escaping. She not only managed to wreck the hallway they'd been speeding through before but also managed to knock down support structures, blow away entire rooms and even cleave the floor apart, leaving a gaping maw of an opening into the floors below.

"What hell is wrong with you…? Are you trying to tear the whole place down on top of us?"

It was the only thing he could muster the concentration to say, damage to the palace aside he could only imagine the number of casualties or even worse...The disruption to the meeting going on not too far away, it was only a matter of time before that ticking time bomb went off, then being buried alive in the rubble would be the least of his worries.

This was a problem, far more than he'd initially thought he'd be dealing with. If this was what he could expect from nothing more than a few warning swings then he most certainly couldn't allow their fight to escalate into a full on conflict. Someone willing to destroy their own home without any hesitation was a danger to be avoided at all costs, a lesson he was learning far too late. His opportunity to turn this field trip into a fun little adventure had slipped away, now came the frustration that would come with cleaning up his own mess.

"Shalltear…"

"What?"

His heart skipped a beat and he nearly jumped away yet again from the shock. He'd said her name hoping that she would somehow hear him and make an appearance but he hadn't noticed that she was already standing next to him, a realization that made the tiny vampire cross her arms in disapproval.

"Heart attack aside...I realize that it was a mistake to run away rather than take care of her before she became a problem."

"A little late for that now, don't you think? Lord Ainz will be livid."

He definitely didn't need to be reminded of that.

"...I'll worry about the consequences later, for now I want you to go find someone for me. Let's just say this woman isn't the only one around here boasting this kind of power, luckily I don't think he's anywhere near as destructively inclined so it shouldn't be too hard to subdue him."

For a moment Shalltear considered his words but didn't see any urgency in them.

"Why don't you just end this quickly and go for him yourself? I don't see why you expect me to leave you alone with that thing."

"Because this is a nifty opportunity for me to clean this up without too much of a hassle."

"Nifty opportunity? the place is in ruins because you wanted a bathroom break."

"Hey, shut up for a second. I don't feel like dealing with the attitude, just listen before I throw you out with or without your consent."

Naturally this statement came as a surprise for Shalltear, the two of them never had a decent conversation with one another in the past but never once would she have expected him to talk to her that way. The decisions he'd made so far were always rash and questionable at best so it only made sense that she'd disagree with a choice he made on the fly, Tanabe however did not have the patience to deal with it. A point that he would make very soon, one that would make his companion regret questioning him again.

Within seconds he was cloaked in a dark aura, it had neither the same effects nor the same coloration as the Aura of Despair that Ainz used so liberally but it worked well enough, well enough to not only end the argument but also completely shut down any opinion the true vampire might have had by reminding her of what he was.

He wasn't a guardian like her or Albedo, he was much worse. Much worse than what your average level one hundred player would be due to the ring that made most world items look like toys, a fact that remained constant no matter how much he and Ainz may differ.

In this situation making an enemy of him for the sake of proving a point was the worst idea possible regardless of whether or not he could stand up to the Necromancer and his subordinates, he'd already proved he wasn't above underhanded tactics when he wounded her before, there was no telling how bad things might get if that damned ring was factored in. Having to take that fight at all would be a worse case scenario for both sides, period. Understanding this, the true vampire fell silent, allowing Tanabe to resume his thought uninterrupted.

"Alright then, now we need to find this guy who goes by title 'Captain of The Black Scripture', you probably don't remember him but I got to spend a lot of time around the guy before I got my body back. Him and his posse are probably holed up around here somewhere, you find him and he makes a convincing scapegoat for what ended up happening here today."

A moment of silence passed after he made his statement, a moment that only came to an end after the vampire moved away.

Honestly it wasn't that bad a plan, capturing Zesshi alive would be foolish to attempt given her nature but if he could at least get his hands on the one other godkin he knew about then it wouldn't be hard to pin the blame on him. Shalltear had been a witness to Zesshi's antics, it would be easy to convince everyone else that they'd probably just walked into a trap and that things got out of hand while they defended themselves.

Of course he did feel a little guilty about probably having wounded his companion's ego but he would need to sort that out later later, with Shalltear off and out of the way he could focus on the other problem in the room.

"Finally."

After finally being alone with her target yet again Zesshi decided to speak up. With how patient she'd been it was almost possible to forget that the source of all the destruction around them was still standing in the room, though it made little difference now.

"I guess I should say sorry for the wait, but it would make more sense to apologize for what comes after that."

"Oh, a threat? Now I'm actually excited."

"You know I've never been good with women, I'll just have to try not to hurt you too much."

Taking a fight head on was the one thing he wanted to avoid but now there was no choice, Zesshi was far too dangerous to simply be ignored. Finally ready for combat, he stood tall, his imposing figure being enough to dwarf even that of Momon's and making him seem more like Cocytus than what any man would be. This of course prompted the exact kind of reaction one would expect from his opponent.

"Our duel begins…"

Words never really had much place in a duel and for a battle maniac like Zesshi it was almost too good an opportunity for her not to accept the anticipation that came with finding her fated one, the one to end her boredom and give her the purpose she craved for.

When she rushed in ready to cleave him in two she felt an exhilaration unlike any she felt before. She was sure that he would give her a fight like none other, this was the opportunity she'd been waiting for.

The scythe made contact. Then her vision faded.

Zesshi Zetsumei would have a hard time remembering anything but the darkness.

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Having the floor crumble out from under, sending her plummeting downwards into the darkness of a castle in the middle of enemy territory wound up being the least of Evileye's worries today, not something most people could honestly say. As she fell amongst the rubble she collided with several pieces of debris, making it no surprise that she'd lost consciousness on the way down, no the real shock came not too long afterwards. As she regained her senses she was met with a number of odd things.

There was a loud rumbling that seemed distant, a foul smell in the air like rotten eggs and a dull pain that seemed to permeate her very being. She may have been more resilient than your average person due to her level and vampirism but she was still a mage, being buried under a ton of rubble would be hard to get out of in her condition without expending unnecessary amounts of mana. Luckily for her she had someone to rescue her from her plight and when she finally opened her eyes there were only two things awaiting her: Red lights like pinpricks, flickering in the dark.

She was face to face with her savior, the supreme one himself holding her as if she were a child. Needless to say it was a moment of utter shock and internal screaming.

"Are you hurt?"

His first concern was justified but he failed to notice what he was doing to her mentally, needing almost a full minute of staring at her quietly before he realized how embarrassing the situation was. He could only be glad that his own dumbfoundedness couldn't be expressed on his skeletal visage and with slight hesitation, he set her down, keeping his hands on her shoulders in the event that she couldn't stand. She was quite small, even smaller than Shalltear, enough so that he needed to kneel just to keep hold of her.

This was the first time he was able to get a really good look at her, she was somewhat childlike, reminiscent of Aura or Entoma albeit a bit more mature sounding. Her attire looked like that of a lower level rogue's, a huge contradiction to her role as an earth mage and likely nowhere near legend tier. If he had to guess she was probably between levels thirty and fifty, putting her firmly in the realm of power of one of the Pleiades, assuming they weren't counting equipment quality.

In a way it was odd to encounter someone like this outside of Nazarick, on the other hand he couldn't help but feel a distant attachment to her, the same he would have for any of his servants. Of course he soon realized how odd the thought was and couldn't help but hang onto it for a bit, long enough that silence ensued between the two before being broken by the girl in question.

"You didn't let me fall…"

Then came the awkward bit, having to explain his actions after the emotionally conflicting conversation up above. The months he'd spent here had already warped his sensibilities, almost to the point of feeling nothing but a subtle sense of obligation for those he ruled over. Tossing himself into a pit without warning for someone outside of his jurisdiction would be hard for even Albedo to justify.

For the most part he thought out most decisions as well as he could but this time he'd allowed himself to become impulsive, something he had not prepared to deal with. In the end he didn't reply, there was no excuse, only the conviction he'd had when he dived in after her. With no answer to give her he instead looked her over forcefully, which only made the vampire even more nervous.

Eventually his gaze landed upon her arm which was noticeably darkened, likely the result of it being crushed during her fall. With a touch, he erased it like it was nothing, leaving his quarry wide eyed and with even more questions than before.

"We need to focus on the objective at hand, I will offer an explanation later."

He spoke as calmly as he could, hoping to get his intentions across without frightening her. He could tell with just a glance that the girl was at her wits end already, putting too much pressure on her wouldn't end well.

Thus he began looking for an escape route. The castle may have taken severe damage in a place somewhere above them but he would be hard pressed to believe the whole structure was coming down, if anything it seemed more like specific supporting structures had been heavily damaged, causing the area below them to cave in. If that were the case then the exterior should still be in check, meaning that anyone who hadn't fallen was probably safe aftergetting enough distance from the initial area.

For a moment he put his finger to his chin to contemplate the circumstances that could have brought about such an event, killing him and his party would make sense but presumably the country's leaders were also present which would suggest either decoys or a coup of some kind. It would be important to know whether or not this incident was intentional but with no evidence to his assumptions to point him in the right direction he decided to leave the thought alone for now and focus on his next move.

The first place he looked was up towards the opening of the chasm, the most obvious of direction he could go, nothing could stop him from casting Fly and going straight back up the way he came, but of course that would leave him with the task of forcing a way out amongst the ruined interior above rather than looking for an alternate path in this corridor.

Wait, a corridor?

Taking a second to actually observe his surroundings he revealed that he was indeed within a massive hallway, one that seemed achingly familiar to that of a dungeon's. Of course a dungeon under a castle shouldn't have been too surprising but this was a little too well done for any average walkway, the floors and walls were ornate and clean as if they were still meticulously scrubbed down and looked after. Very suspicious…

Every gamer instinct he had left urged him to explore, hours spent dungeon crawling and raid clearing left him feeling right at home in a place like this. But was that the right choice to make? He'd acted on impulse hardly a few minutes ago and it got him stuck down here to begin with, was it really smart to go exploring like a lost child? It probably wasn't but now he couldn't fault Tanabe for splitting off the way he had on a whim.

Returning to the interior of the building was a safe bet but letting his discovery go unchecked was quite a risk should something valuable lay dormant, now he was faced with the task of either getting his companion to safety or prioritizing his interests. If only he hadn't been playing hero this decision would be so much easier.

"Evileye, this hall seems suspicious."

Generic dialogue, the bane of any good storytelling game's conversational segments but he needed her input to help make up his mind, her wellbeing was the reason he dove in after all. Unfortunately relying on Evileye with her current state of mind was a liability at best.

"I...I suppose. It seems like a secret passageway…"

More generic dialogue.

"Yes, I thought the same thing. I have a sneaking suspicion that this could lead to a secret our would-be allies are containing."

"A treasure of some kind perhaps…"

The two of them were hopeless. He knew he wanted to explore and she knew that he knew that he wanted to explore but both were unable to make the suggestion themselves, a situation Ainz would find comparable to some of the more embarrassing interactions he'd had with females in his past life and he could blame no one but himself. Evileye was likely still reeling from the fact that Momon was really a big scary skeleton with the power to destroy the world, with the absurdity of a reveal like that she probably didn't have the processing power to handle anything else.

"Then it is best we take time to examine the place to be sure."

"Oh, alright…"

Her reluctant agreement didn't help his conscious at all but there was no time to waste, he lead the way without hesitation, eager to find whatever lurked in the darkness whether it be an artifact or a raid boss while his companion was stuck with a deep uncertainty. It was no surprise that even slightest provocation could have them both anxious and ready to fight, so when a door gave way in the darkness, their uninvited guest had the most hostile of magic pointed at them like a blade against their throats.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, there was a matter I thought would require your immediate attention, Lord Ainz."

Very few people could keep a calm expression in a situation like this...Even fewer would have the audacity to do anything but raise their hands in surrender. But among those few stood a woman with zero hesitation and zero reason to fear dying at the hands of her ruler.

"Narberal...I shouldn't be surprised that you followed us down here but.."

"I am sorry to interrupt your wooing of our accomplice but I feel this is urgent."

"My what?"

Light hearted comedy was one way to diffuse a situation...Or possibly make it much worse. If only Narberal was capable of having a sense of humour. She retreated into the darkness, completely ignoring the concerning yet cute noises that poor Keeno was making.

It's been awhile...But here's to the new year.